Report: Landlords Practice Bigotry By Asking For Rent Deposits

[Toronto Star] A new report from the Ontario Human Rights Commission makes a case for considering housing as not only a need but also a right, guaranteed by international agreements that Canada has signed.

Chief commissioner Barbara Hall’s groundbreaking report, released yesterday, chronicles how all levels of government and public and private sector landlords discriminate against immigrants and refugees, single parents, the disabled, aboriginals and the mentally ill. Collectively, these minorities make up the majority of those living in poverty in this province.

Landlords illegally bar families by advertising “adult only” buildings and discriminate against the poor by imposing credit checks, rent deposits and income requirements. Yet few of those denied access ever file a complaint with the commission.